'Transport is definitely the key legacy area for Sadiq'

With just over three weeks until the mayoral election, the Standard continues its audit into Sadiq Khan’s record. City Hall Editor Ross Lydall today examines transport, where the Mayor’s decisions affect the biggest number of people

- Ross Lydall

WHEN Sadiq Khan published his last mayoral manifesto, his paramount concern was restoring Transport for London's Covid-crippled finances. Now TfL is about to post a £162 million annual "operating surplus" and its executives are waiting eagerly to see if they have done enough to earn themselves bonuses (they will find out later this month, when TfL's performance is measured against a series of "scorecard" targets).

It's a far cry from the situation in 2021.

Mr Khan entered that year's mayoral elections delayed a year by the pandemic with TfL surviving day-to-day thanks to government bailouts that ended up totalling more than £6 billion.

But while the capital's public transport body is no longer on life-support, it still has the capacity to cause the Mayor headaches. The problems on the Central line are likely to be repeated on other lines where TfL cannot afford to replace the trains, such as the Bakerloo, Northern and Jubilee.

And despite finding £30 million to avert New Year strikes, union walkouts remain a worry. Only last week was a strike, which would have caused chaos on the day the mayoral election winner is due to be declared, called off after a deal was struck with Aslef.

In transport terms, the focus of much of Mr Khan's second term was on the Ulez. We will analyse that separately when we look at his environmental record. But how did he perform more generally on transport? Here we examine what Mr Khan promised - and what he delivered in the area where the mayor's decisions directly affect more people than any other.

THE 2021 MANIFESTO

It may seem a lifetime ago, but Sadiq Khan's 2021 manifesto is most notable for its pictures: the Mayor in a face mask (appropriately enough, one bearing a Tube seat moquette).

The pandemic was drawing to an end but TfL was in dire straits. The Mayor had to get it- and London's wider economy back on its feet.